


New Rules (Rehearse and Repeat It)

by ishie



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Classical Music, Flash Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-06 21:47:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14656875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ishie/pseuds/ishie
Summary: Rey longed to close her eyes and lose herself to the music. When she practiced, everything poured out of her in a torrent, notes ringing through her whole body even when she played with her hands two inches above the keys.From the other side of the room, she heard him say, "Again."





	New Rules (Rehearse and Repeat It)

**Author's Note:**

> I got the prompt "18. — endless" on Tumblr. Thanks anon! Apparently I also had the French movie "Blind Date" on the brain, so: classical musician AU. Title is from the song by Dua Lipa because whyyyy not.

"Again."

Rey glared over her shoulder, but her hands fell back to the keyboard without her permission. Fingers splayed in the correct positions, she counted herself in to the song.

Her shoulders started to dip as she moved through the first four measures.

"Up."

She jerked fully upright, tightening her abdominal muscles and squaring her shoulders back while her fingers kept moving in the familiar patterns. 

"Good."

A smile threatened to slip past her neutral expression. Rey poured the feeling into her playing instead, feeling the ominous notes tremble on the air, crashing into each other like an anxiety attack until they tumbled up or downward into a series of glissandi. 

She longed to close her eyes and lose herself to the music. The way she did at home, in the comfort of her cramped apartment with the upright piano shoved against the wall. When she practiced, everything poured out of her in a torrent, notes ringing through her whole body even when she played with her hands two inches above the keys.

The last notes clung for only a moment, then they too faded into the gloom of the descending evening.

From the chair on the other side of the room, Rey heard him say, "Again."

This time she turned on the bench and leveled her full scowl at him. "I've played it seven times already today."

"And you'll keep going until you can manage not to slur your way through the cadenza."

"I did not--" She bit back the rest of the argument. He wouldn't let her win, not tonight. Not when they were so close to the end. Instead she twisted back to the piano and pulled the cover over the keys. "I need a break. Have you eaten?"

The last of the sunset was sinking behind him through the window, leaving his face in shadow, but Rey could almost feel his surprise. This was far from the first time they had spent an entire day into evening together. It wasn't even the twentieth time, though all of it was still so new that she almost couldn't believe it. But it was the first time she voluntarily asked him anything other than a question about technique, or why the doctors didn't go ahead and remove that enormous stick up his ass while they were in there.

"Why?" He couldn't sound more suspicious if he tried and for some reason that was what pushed Rey right over the cliff and into total freefall. 

She threw her hands up in the air. "Because that's a thing people ask, you insufferable prick! God. If you could act like a human being for _one second_ , maybe you wouldn't--" and for the second time in about as many minutes, she cracked her teeth down on the rest of the words. 

"Sorry," she said instead. "I'm going to grab a sandwich across the street. I'll be back in twenty."

Rey stomped out of the room, as irritated with herself as she was with him, and with the soundproofing on the walls that kept her from making as much of a racket as she'd like. She settled for smacking into the stairwell door with both hands, only remembering at the last second to hit the fire door release bar with her hip so she didn't take the full brunt of the impact on her open palms.

By the time she reached street level, she had grumbled out most of her frustration. The smell of impending rain and a slight breeze ruffling through her hair managed to dissipate the rest, so by the time she stepped into Maz's she felt almost human again.

So, of course, Maz took one look at her and barked out a laugh. "Going that well, hmm? Come here, sit down. You'll start with pie."

The pie was exactly what she needed, and the sandwich too big for her to finish in one sitting. When Maz came back with the check, she also left a fresh sweet tea in a to-go cup and dropped a large paper bag next to Rey's empty plate.

"Your leftovers, and a nice roast beef with horseradish for himself," she said to Rey's unasked question. "I put another piece of pie in there for you, too."

"Thanks, Maz." She tapped out a simple melody on the table while she waited for the tiny woman to count out her change.

A pile of ones and a handful of change later, Maz asked, a little too casually, "You're due to perform soon, yes? So how are things coming along?"

Better, Rey had to admit. She wasn't struggling with any of the pieces the way she was at the start. Finn, who was as musical as a cow, kept sticking his head in her door to compliment her on her playing. And, she did not tell Maz, she occasionally found herself sitting up straight as a bolt even on the toilet, so obviously the constant bitching about her posture was working, too.

He was not the most encouraging coach, as if being contractually obligated to step in for _Ben Solo_ on a performance of this magnitude wasn't already enough to send her into a panic spiral if she thought about it too long. But Rey hadn't tried to cash out her ticket to Amsterdam in at least three days, and the sheer terror was fading more with every practice session. 

"Maybe things are going better than you think, my girl. I haven't heard you complain once about his yelling since last week! And he must already think highly of your skill or he wouldn't sought you out in the first place."

"I only treat him the way he treats me," Rey protested. But she heard again that _Why?_ \-- had he sounded more confused than suspicious? -- and cringed inwardly when she remembered how she blew up in response. With a sigh, she added, "I'll try."

Maz beamed, and Rey tried to carry that feeling with her all the way back across the street and upstairs. 

Ben was sitting in the same spot when she banged back into the room, as if he couldn't be bothered to move himself even an inch. Of course, that also meant that the night outside had slipped into the room, turning the floor and walls as black as the moonless sky. 

Ignoring any protest he might make, Rey flipped all the lights on and forced her face as still as it would go when Ben threw up one arm to block the light. 

The bruising around his eyes was totally gone, but the sharp pucker of skin from forehead to jaw was as red and angry as ever. The cast on his arm was shorter now, too, reaching only from wrist to elbow. A far cry from the full plaster tube that had held him immobile from shoulder down for weeks.

Even better, his grip was back. He plucked the bag right out of the air when she tossed it to him. No grimace, no hiss of pain. No fumbling, but Rey thought she saw a tiny wince when his fingers closed on the paper. So, maybe it wasn't all the way back; maybe it would _never_ be all the way back.

But Rey was not going to dwell on that, or on the swell of pressure that rose in her throat at the thought. So, before he could hit her with some shitty snipe to cover up any vulnerability she might spot on him, she offered, "I'll split the pie with you if I can switch back to the Rachmaninoff for a bit. Deal?"

Ben poked around in the bag instead of answering, but he didn't turn away like he usually did. After a minute, she realized his nod was all the answer she was going to get.

Rey wanted to let her irritation flood back. She could feel herself already starting to slip onto that well-worn path, where it was comfortable and unlikely to lead her anywhere she tried not to consider, but.... 

He was smiling. 

He was _smiling_. Rey almost couldn't process it. His smile was ... Well, it was startling, is what it was. It spread slowly over his face, first unwrinkling his brow and widening his eyes. It pulled at the scar that divided his face, then slipped down to curl across his mouth until Rey had to remind herself to take a breath and unclench her fists.

"Okay, deal," she said, with as much authority as she could muster. "And I know how big that slice is so don't try to cheat me."

"I wouldn't dare," he said as she sat and lifted the cover. "Once more, then. Whenever you're ready."

Rey blew out a shaky breath, but her hands were steady on the keys. Within minutes, she was swept away by the music, forgetting all about her nerves, her temper, his smile....

Her finger slipped, but she managed to pull it back so that the missed note barely registered and moved on. Still, her shoulders went up around her ears while she waited for the barked _again!_ that always followed her mistakes, no matter how tiny.

Instead, she heard a soft exhale that sent a shiver down her back. 

Then, so softly she might have missed it if she weren't holding her breath, Ben said, "Good. Keep going."

**Author's Note:**

> The note about Finn's musical talents is a quote about the architect of the Concertgebouw, which is where Rey will be filling in for Ben.
> 
> The first pieces she plays is Lizst's Totentanz: https://youtu.be/zGBXA1tBiLw
> 
> The second is the Rachmaninoff that begins here (at the Concertgebouw even!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5cerHBgMDw&t=1661s


End file.
